A New Vision for East Palo Alto: A Lovely Little City by the Bay

In the State of the City Address that he delivered on May 4, East Palo Alto Mayor Ruben Abrica presented a vision of East Palo Alto that could rival, on a much smaller scale, the image of San Francisco. He shared his belief that East Palo Alto could one day have a new reputation and a new image as the little City by the Bay. He asked his listeners to think of East Palo Alto as a City by the Bay with a strong spirit, next to a beautiful creek, the San Francisquito Creek.

Certainly for many that description brings to mind a lovely little city with parks, a protected and preserved Cooley Landing with walking trails, shops, recreation areas, a lively waterfront and scenic bay views. It's a futuristic vision for East Palo Alto and it would be a real reversal of the image that many have of East Palo Alto as a problematic place with inner city problems.

The vision Mayor Abrica put forth is certainly one toward which the city could strive. Being known as the little City by the Bay would certainly be a lovely appealing image and a positive description for East Palo Alto. It's certainly a vision worth thinking about. So, do you think Abrica's vision of East Palo Alto, as a lovely little City by the Bay, could ever become a reality? Is it a vision that the city could and should strive to achieve? Would it be a reality that you would want to pass on to the next generation?

See Mayor Abrica's State of the City Address here. What do you think?

Who is being treated unfairly?

An ongoing battle over rent increases has raged for months between the City of East Palo Alto and Page Mill Properties. The battle has been fought in court with the city losing two of the court cases brought against it by the company. This entire issue has pitted the rights of the tenants against the right of the landlord to raise rents.

An East Palo Alto tenant group and local activists protested the rent increases with marches from East Palo Alto to Page Mill Poperties' administrative offices in Palo Alto.

In an interview with East Palo Alto Today, Page Mill Properties' General Counsel Jim Shore said that Page Mill Properties would now like to work positively with the City of East Palo Alto. You can read his remarks in the East Palo Alto Today article which discusses the latest court ruling in the ongoing legal battle.

Since the interview, Page Mill Properties has filed another lawsuit against the city charging that the East Palo Alto Rent Stabilization Board wrongly denied 44 claims from Page Mill Properties for exemption from rent control.

Now an article has appeared on the SFGate.com website alleging that Page Mill Properties has been treated unfairly. We'd like to know if you would agree. You can read all of the articles that have appeared in East Palo Alto Today and on the EPA Today website about Page Mill Properties and the rent issue.

Given all that you know about the current dispute between Page Mill Properties and its tenants and the company's legal battles with the City of East Palo Alto, whom do you think is being treated unfairly? Is it the City of East Palo Alto? Is it Page Mill Properties' tenants? Or, is it Page Mill Properties? We would like to have your comments on this issue. You can post your comments below.

Updated 4/20/09 at 6:21 p.m.

The Role of City Government

At the May 20 East Palo Alto City Council meeting, council members voted three to two to allocate money to several local groups which sponsor cultural programs in the city. Throughout the meeting, Council member Peter Evans argued that the city was functioning improperly as a welfare agency and was misusing taxpayers’ money by supporting community programs sponsored by the city's nonprofit agencies. He stated that the city should concentrate solely on providing municipal services, like fixing the streets. The council ignored his arguments and decided, instead, to establish guidelines it could use to determine future funding for local agencies that request city assistance.

So, what do you think? Do you agree with Evans that the city should focus on providing municipal services only? Or do you believe it is a function of local government to allocate money to social service agencies that need assistance in providing needed community services? You can log in and post your opinion below or you can email your opinion to epatoday@epatoday.org. Either way, we might print your views in EPA Today’s Letter to the Editor column.

Should the city appeal?

After hearing numerous stories by East Palo Alto tenants that newly requested rent increases would bring personal hardship, the East Palo Alto City Council voted to impose a six month moratorium on the rent increases brought by Page Mill Properties, the city’s largest rental landlord. The requested rent increases would have raised the monthly rent from $100 to $300 on approximately 1,300 apartment units.

Many of the tenants who received the rent increases are low-income, disabled and like many seniors, on fixed incomes. In ruling against the city, Judge Beth Larson Freeman said that the city’s moratorium violated several state laws. Representatives for the city said that the moratorium allowed for a cooling off period in which critical issues affecting both the tenants and the landlord could be settled. The city now has the option of appealing the judge’s decision. Given the stakes involved for the tenants and for the landlord, do you think the City of East Palo Alto should appeal the judge’s decision and try to keep the six month moratorium?

Electing East Palo Alto's new mayor

After a spirited series of discussions that took place over several months, the East Palo Alto City Council modified Resolution 738 which specified how the mayor of East Palo Alto should be selected.

Some thought the resolution stipulated that the position of mayor would rotate annually and go to the next city council member who had not previously served as mayor. If this interpretation had prevailed, then City Council Member Peter Evans would have automatically become mayor. But, at its meeting on Tuesday, November 20, the East Palo Alto City Council ended the debate. By a 4 to 1 vote, the council took away any confusion about the resolution by modifying it to state that the new mayor would be elected by the majority vote of the council.

So, at its last meeting on Tuesday, December 4, the East Palo Alto City Council elected by a 3 to 2 vote Vice Mayor Patricia Foster as East Palo Alto's new mayor. City Council Member Donna Rutherford was elected as the city's new vice mayor.

Given the long debate over the issue, do you approve of the changes the East Palo Alto City Council made to Resolution 738? Do you believe that the vice mayor or the council member who has not served as mayor should automatically become mayor or do you think the city council should elect as mayor the council member who gets the most votes?

Is a civilian review board necessary?

On Tuesday, October 2, a recommendation was made during the East Palo Alto City Council meeting to create a civilian review board in East Palo Alto. It was said that a board composed of East Palo Alto residents who had civilian oversight of the police department would give the department greater transparency, would create a safer environment for residents and police officers who file complaints against the police and would foster more trust for the police. This body would be appropriate for the city, it was said, since a similar body existed in East Palo Alto previously.

Given the “Chat with the Chief” meetings that East Palo Alto Police Chief Ron Davis holds in the city, the monthly community beat meetings that take place throughout the city, the recent policies and programs designed to improve the East Palo Alto Police Department’s relations with the community, and the reduced crime rate within the city, do you think a civilian review board is necessary? Would civilian oversight of the police department improve the police’s effectiveness and lead to more trust and cooperation between the residents and the police? Tell us what you think.

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

On July 3, the East Palo Alto City Council voted to allocate $45,000 to the East Palo Alto Boxing Club, a nonprofit organization within the city that teaches boxing skills to the city’s youth. The organization also encourages its young participants to set personal goals, maintain high standards and stay out of trouble.

When the city council agreed to allocate the money to the boxing club, it requested that the city’s staff provide the council with potential funding sources from which to take the money. At the council's evening meeting on July 17, the staff suggested three city funded areas: the fund for children and seniors, the technology fund and the council’s budget allocation fund.

One resident remarked, during a community forum after the suggestions were made, that if the council followed through on the suggestions, then it would be robbing Peter to pay Paul, since the boxing club’s funding would be taken from other city programs.

So, we’d like to know whether you think the council should take the money that it plans to give to the boxing program from other funded programs. If the council does what the staff suggested, would it, in fact, be robbing Peter to pay Paul?